How can you stop your teen from distracted driving?

Teens all over North Carolina count down the days until they are old enough to go to the Department of Motor Vehicles and take the exam to obtain a learner’s permit. They cannot wait to be able to drive themselves anywhere they want to go and imagine bringing their friends along for the ride. However, to drive safely, your child needs to understand how important focus is when they are behind the wheel. What is the best way to prevent your teen from distracted driving?

Unfortunately, statistics show that the accident rate for new drivers is indeed much higher than that of adult drivers. According to the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, teen drivers are approximately four times more likely to get into an accident. Sadly, car accidents are the leading cause of death for this age group. Therefore, it important to impress upon your child exactly how great a responsibility driving is, and that it is vital to refrain from distracted driving at all times. While it may be scary, share with him or her these statistics as a starting point for a discussion.

As you can imagine, the biggest threat to teen focus on the road comes from electronic devices such as cellphones. Discuss distracted driving behaviors and note that removing their eyes for just a couple of seconds makes it much more likely that they will crash. Finally, be sure to model only good behavior for your child when you are the driver, so he or she has something to emulate.

The information here is only to be used for educational purposes and should not be interpreted as legal advice.